Classic cars dazzle streets of Sisters

The High Desert Custom Car Classic brought 120 hot rods and custom cars to Sisters last weekend.

"They came from all over the Northwest," said event organizer Tom Griffin. He reeled off hometowns including Lodi, California; Boise, Idaho; and Seattle, Washington.

Sponsored by Customs Northwest, a regional car club in Oregon and Washington, the three-day event included a twilight cruise through Sisters, scavenger hunt, a "coolest cruiser contest" and a street dance.

The American cars ranged from a 1915 "C cab truck, made mostly out of wood," to a 1991 Mustang, Griffin said.

But what attracted the crowds on Saturday are what most of us would call hot rods - heavily customized cars with large chromed engines.

Like "Kruzer," owned by Dave Hall of Salem.

Kruzer started life as a '49 Ford. Hall bought the car in 1992 in Kentucky, and brought it back to Salem to finish a job started by someone else.

That work included "chopping" or reducing the height of the roof over the body; the car was "channeled," or dropped lower on the frame, so the body rested just above the ground; and "sectioned," where a horizontal section of the body was removed, changing even further its profile.

Because of its extensive body work, Hall estimated it would take $60,000 to $70,000 to recreate "Kruzer."

The '49 Ford runs behind a 345-horsepower Chevrolet 350-cubic inch motor. "That is just the thing to do," Hall said of the conversion.

Well, not for everyone. Don Pyle of Lebanon built his 1930 Model "A" two-door sedan with a 271-horsepower, 289-cubic-inch Ford engine.

Pyle said he installed a Ford engine in his Ford "to be different. It was harder to put a Ford in there, because it's two inches longer than the Chevy," Pyle said. He had to modify the firewall, and install an electric cooling fan.

Aside from the compact dimensions of its engines, General Motors supported early hot rod efforts by selling "crate motors," new engines in a box. While Ford and Chrysler have since started doing the same thing, Chevrolet got a good foothold in the market.

The paint on Pyle's beautiful '30 Ford looks purple and then blue. It is a 1996 paint, he explains, Ford "Sapphire Blue," and changes color as clouds chase the sun across the sky.

Pyle said it took him five years to build his car. His wife Robin "didn't love the building, but she loves it now that it's done."

Robin was shopping in Sisters during the show on Saturday.

"This is great," Pyle said of Sisters. Shopping and other recreation provides activities for other members of the family.

The welcome of Sisters was echoed by John Conway, another officer with Customs Northwest. "There is so much to do and see in this area. It is a great place for a car show, it really is."

Merchants who donated door prizes and participated in a "walking poker run" through town also contributed to the feeling of welcome experienced by the car owners, according to Griffin.

Customs Northwest plans to be back next year, for the 10th annual "High Desert Custom Car Classic." Griffin said he hoped that show would be even bigger and better.

Dave Hall and Don Pyle, who each attend about 20 events in a season that extends from the middle of May until the end of September, will probably be here. Along with several hundred of their friends.